St. Frances boys basketball coach Mark Karcher has abruptly resigned after three seasons, with assistant coach Nick Myles taking over. The season's first practice is set for this afternoon.

"I just want to put the kids in a good position to succeed," said Myles, also the school's athletic director, who declined to discuss specific details as to why Karcher stepped down. "It's an unfortunate situation. I'm just looking to prepare the kids to have a successful season."

Karcher, a 1997 St. Frances grad who is regarded as one of the finest players to come out of Baltimore, could not be reached for comment.

In his stellar four-year playing career at St. Frances, Karcher was twice named All-Metro Player of the Year, leading the Panthers to three straight Baltimore Catholic League championships.

He went on to play three years at Temple before becoming a second round draft pick by the Philadelphia 76ers following his junior year. Karcher played professionally overseas before returning to his alma mater in 2007. He spent one season as an assistant under longtime coach William Wells before taking over the program in the 2008-09 season.

In his first season as head coach, the Panthers swept the BCL and Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference titles and they went on to repeat as MIAA champs in the 2009-10 season.

Last season, St. Frances went 19-10 and finished runner-up to John Carroll in both the BCL and MIAA.

In May, Karcher became a charter member in the BCL Hall of Fame. Myles has been an assistant coach the past six seasons and the school's AD for two years. St. Frances opens the season on Dec. 2 at Calvert Hall.